Welcome Home
by Wise-Lionturtle
Summary: Natsu finally returns from his journey alone. Will he like the Magnolia he returns to? Contains spoiler-ish things from Chapter 416.


**I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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It had been closer to two years since he'd been back to Magnolia, a fact which he knew was going to get him in trouble, but he was finally at the threshold of the town and there was a particular person that he was eager to see again.

The place had been completely rebuilt since he'd left, though it looked as if everything was still the exact same as he remembered it. The hustle and bustle of the streets still giving off the familiar hum of energy that he missed dearly in his silent nights training. The feel of the cobblestone roads beneath his feet couldn't help but bring a grin to his face and the ever so light spray of mist that washed up from the canal cooling him after his long journey.

His destination was not too much further, the Fairy Tail guild hall. Just a few more turns and he'd finally return to his home. He knew he was going to get yelled at by everyone for leaving unexpectedly and for being a little longer than he had predicted, but he was prepared and excited to see their welcoming faces.

His companion was also equally eager to see all of his friends again, evident by the way he flew around in circles and spoke quickly and excitedly. They both had a mutual understanding of why, boring nights during their training were spent reminiscing over nostalgic moments. They would trade stories constantly, even the same ones, if only to try to bring Magnolia and the guild a little closer to them as they were feeling home sick.

Finally approaching the home stretch, the two friends turned the last corner and prepared to finally behold their guild hall once again. However, the only sight greeting them was that of a broken and destroyed pile of rubble. Remnants of the familiar guild hall which had been destroyed in that exact spot several years ago.

He was confused. Had they not even attempted to rebuild it? That was strange. Maybe they just changed locations within the city. As he approached the ruins he noticed that, in fact, something was different about the destroyed hall. In the center of the plot stood a statue with a plaque at the base.

He examined it. The statue was a very detailed depiction of a fairy standing on one foot with its arm raised towards the sky, its hand pointing upwards. Upon further inspection he discovered that the plaque read: _In memory of the Fairy Tail guild hall, may each member continue their adventure and remember the times spent here. - Makarov Dreyar, former guild master. _

"Former guild master? You think he finally passed the title onto somebody Happy?" He looked inquisitively at his animal companion.

Happy shrugged, he was equally confused.

"Well it sounds like they all went their separate ways to me." Happy said.

"No way, I'm sure they just moved to a different part of the town is all." Natsu said with a faux confidence. In reality he also shared Happy's line of thought.

"I'm sure Lucy will tell us what's going on!" Happy replied.

"Yeah!"

The two companions set out from the ruins and headed towards their friend's house. After all the years they'd been gone, Natsu still remembered the route he would take to get to her place. After a few short minutes of navigating the alley ways of Magnolia, they had arrived.

Without even knocking he barged in through the door.

"LUCY! We're back!"

"Aye!"

They were met with the familiar sight of their friend's house. All of the furniture and everything else within the house remained unchanged, almost as if nobody had been there since he'd left the note all those months ago.

It was then that he noticed it. Lying on her coffee table was a satchel that he recognized all too well.

"It couldn't be." He said in disbelief. There's no way Lucy would go anywhere without this satchel.

To confirm his suspicion, he grabbed the satchel and opened it. Sure enough, inside were Lucy's keys. All of them. His eyes grew wide.

"Okay, just what in the hell is going on here!" He yelled angrily.

"Natsu calm down. I'm sure there's a reason she left them behind." Happy said.

He pulled out one of the keys.

"Maybe one of her spirits knows." Natsu stated hopefully.

"Do you even know how to summon them?" Happy replied.

"'Course I do, I've seen her do it about a thousand times!" He was confident he could do it, but he wasn't sure whose key this ways. He'd never bothered to learn all of the symbols.

"Okay... so... umm..." Natsu held the key out in front, "I guess I'll just try every one of them!"

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull. Taurus!" Natsu yelled. Nothing happened.

"Hmm, guess it wasn't him."

"Open, Gate of the Maiden. Virgo!" Natsu tried again. Still, nothing happened.

"Open..."

"That's my key, Natsu."

The two turned to look towards the other side of the room and there stood a familiar and friendly face.

"Loke! How ya doin' man! It's been a while!" Natsu said, he placed the key back inside Lucy's satchel and went over to greet the celestial spirit.

"Yeah. Sure has been a while." Loke said.

"So, what's the deal man. Where's Lucy and where did Fairy Tail move to?" Natsu inquired.

The celestial spirit gave him a straight-faced look.

"You really don't know, do you?" Loke guessed.

"Know what?"

"Natsu, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this..." Loke managed to choke out, he was obviously struggling to say what he wanted to.

"Tell me what?" Natsu said. Happy wasn't sure if Natsu was confused or in denial, but he had already guessed what Loke was going to say and tears began forming in his eyes.

"What? What's wrong Happy?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu, Lucy is gone." He said plainly.

"Gone?" Natsu was confused.

"You don't mean..." Happy asked, assuming the worst.

"I do..." Loke added.

Before Natsu and Happy could even process this new information they were given, they could heard the front door swing open and heard an onslaught of familiar voices conversing as they entered the house.

Lucy, Erza and Wendy walked into the living room and discovered Natsu, Happy and Loke standing there. Natsu and Happy looking surprised and confused and Loke having a devious grin on his face.

"Gone to get lunch!" Loke laughed.

"You jerk!" Natsu yelled as he connected his fist with Loke's face. Loke went flying into the wall. After a few seconds his body began to vaporize as he went back to the Celestial Spirit World, leaving a Loke-sized hole in the wall.

"Natsu! Happy!"

"They're back!"

"About time..."

The three ladies shouted in surprise as Lucy and Wendy both tackled them to the floor. Erza stood back with her usual composure but still couldn't help the smile on her face.

"Hey... ugh... good to see you... ngh... too." He managed to squeeze out.

"What took you so long?" Lucy scolded him.

"I'll tell you guys all about it later. First off, what happened to the guild hall?" Natsu questioned.

"Yeah?" Happy also was in need of some clarification.

"Oh, Master Makarov stepped down and now Laxus is the guild master. We have a new place on the other side of Magnolia." Erza explained.

"Well why didn't you just use our old guild hall?"

"We left it as a memorial for Master Makarov." Wendy added.

"Come on. I'm sure everyone else will be dying to know that you've made it back!" Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed Natsu's hand and rushed out the front door, leading him in the direction of the new guild hall. The others followed, equally excited to break the news.

Natsu was happy, with a grin on his face he gladly let Lucy drag him along. For the first time in two years, he was home. He couldn't wait to see the rest of his friends.

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**So many people asking for fics where Natsu returns and Lucy is dead and Fairy Tail is gone. There's no way this would ever happen! Everything will be just fine and happy!**


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